Monday, March 23, 2015

Armed with a library card and internet connection, you can
learn just about anything for free. So why pay for a writing course? The interaction
with the instructor, your peers and the carefully chosen materials, as well as
the deadlines, will help to speed the learning process along. Plus, you’ll have
fun and start to cultivate a writing community.

When you approach a subject from different angles (activating the various learning styles:

visual, aural, verbal, physical, logical, social and
solitary,) you’re more likely to understand and remember it. Participating in
class discussions, listening to the instructor and spending time alone with the material are activities that work in tandem to help you to learn.

For writing memoir, it is particularly helpful to have new
readers who are, at least initially, strangers. Friends who know your
story will fill in the missing sections in your text; new readers can ask the right questions to ensure that your narrative is clear.

In my creative writing workshops, I encourage my students to
form small workshop groups to continue setting deadlines and reading each other’s
material after we’ve finished. Writing can be solitary business, but it doesn’t
have to be. The encouragement to continue writing and the opportunity to read
someone else’s work will keep you on track with your project and sharpen your editing skills.

Monday, March 9, 2015

It can be confusing to know whether to use "I" or "me" in a sentence. Hopefully the following will help to clear up the situation:

Deciding whether to use "I" or "me" is based on whether you are using a subject pronoun ("I") or indirect object pronoun ("me.") The subject pronoun is the pronoun standing in for the person performing the action and the indirect object pronoun is the object or person receiving the action. For example, I could write, "George kicks the ball to Clara." "George" is the subject of the sentence and could be replaced by the subject pronoun, "he." Who receives the action? Clara. In this case, the receiver, Clara, can be replaced by the indirect object pronoun, "her." Therefore, the sentence can be rewritten, "He kicks the ball to her." ("Ball" is the direct object pronoun.)

You will need a subject pronoun ("I") if the "I" is the subject performing the action. (Click through for a complete list of subject pronouns.)

For example, you might want to write, "Diane and I are buying tickets for the show." In this case, "I" is the subject pronoun performing the action (buying the tickets with Diane.) The sentence works if you change the subject to "we," another subject pronoun. Ask yourself who is doing the action and the answer is "Diane and I!" ("Me" cannot be the subject pronoun and therefore not correct. If you were to write this sentence using only the first person singular, "I" instead of the plural, "Diane and I," you'd write, "I am buying the tickets for the show," not, "Me...")

If the sentence changes to, "Diane is buying tickets for me," then "me" becomes the indirect object pronoun. (Click through for more on indirect object pronouns.) You can ask yourself, "for whom"? and the answer is, "For me!" Or, "Who is doing it?" "Diane!" In this case, the direct object pronoun is "tickets" (that is to say, what is being bought.) Whenever the issue is a direct or indirect object pronoun, then the answer is "me" (if it is first person.)

Monday, February 23, 2015

Take a class this spring at Politics and Prose Bookstore in Washington, D.C. (and stay to shop like President Obama!) I'll be offering a four week Mixed Level Memoir Writing Workshop and a single session Memoir Writing: Possible Moral, Ethical & Legal Issues, co-taught with Martha Ertman. I encourage you to register for both together, since they are connected (although you can choose to take only one, if you prefer.)

Don't hesitate to email me with any questions about the classes (chloemiller(at)gmail(dot)com.) The memoir writing workshop does fill up quickly; I encourage you to register today.

This class is for you if you are thinking about starting a
memoir or have already begun writing. You are also welcome if you simply want
to try a new writing genre.

This four session workshop will help you write a memoir by
breaking it down into a collection of linked personal essays. Participants will
respond to writing prompts, workshop one essay draft, and discuss on-going
projects. We will consider issues of editing, revising, organizing research and
chapters, and publishing. Students will receive feedback from peers and the
instructor.

No homework is due for the first day of class. Please bring
paper and a pen (or charged laptop) to every class. You will be writing
in-class and at home after the first session. In-class writing prompts will
change every session; you are welcome to take this class more than once.

Writing about oneself inevitably impacts others. How do we
morally, ethically and legally portray living or deceased people in our
memoirs? Martha Ertman, memoirist, attorney, and professor and memoir writing
workshop instructor Chloe Yelena Miller will discuss these issues. Come with
questions for the Q&A session in the second half.

The online resources are great and include quizzes with exercises in grammar, punctuation and more. The explanations for correct and wrong answers are thorough and clear. (If asked to log in, simply click “cancel” in order to use the site.)

Friday, February 13, 2015

My online students can fill in the "Comments" section when they submit an assignment. They usually write something like, "Here's my assignment. Enjoy!" Occasionally I'll read something like, "I didn't understand what you meant by X. What is a Y?"

Always ask questions. Keep in mind that the timing is important for your comprehension and, ultimately, grade. Start working early on your assignment so that is possible to ask questions before the assignment deadline. With email, of course, you can send the question at any time and instructors can respond when they are available. You might have follow-up questions, so start early.

Most schools have free in-person and online tutoring sessions available through a writing center. Most school libraries have librarians available to answer questions both in-person and online, too. Use all of the resources available to you, starting with your professor, to learn as much as possible and succeed in your classes.

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About Me

I am a published poet and freelance writer with an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College in NY. I studied Italian language and literature at Smith College. My poetry chapbook, Unrest, is published by Finishing Line Press.
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I teach creative and composition writing online at Fairleigh Dickinson University, Northampton Community College and Thomas Edison State College. I also work individually with adult students as a writing coach. I am the Special Projects Coordinator for Toadlily Press.
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I spent four years living in Florence, Italy and am fluent in Italian. I teach Italian cooking and language lessons privately.